About the Assessment: Target Population and Sample Size

The schools and students participating in NAEP assessments are selected to be representative of all schools nationally. The results from the assessed students are combined to provide accurate estimates of the overall performance of students in public, private, and other types of schools (i.e., Bureau of Indian Education schools and Department of Defense schools) in the nation. The sample sizes shown here give the numbers of students selected to participate, not the numbers who actually did participate. See the participation rates for this assessment.

Student sample size and target population in NAEP writing at grade 8, by type of school: 2011

Type of school

Sample size

Target population

Nation

24,600

3,698,000

Public

22,600

3,399,000

Private

2,100

299,000

NOTE: The sample size is rounded to the nearest hundred. The target population is rounded to the nearest thousand. Detail may not sum to totals because of rounding.
SOURCE: U.S. Department of Education, Institute of Education Sciences, National Center for Education Statistics, National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP), 2011 Writing Assessment.

Student sample size and target population in NAEP writing at grade 12, by type of school: 2011

Type of school

Sample size

Target population

Nation

28,900

3,269,000

Public

26,300

2,986,000

Private

2,600

283,000

NOTE: The sample size is rounded to the nearest hundred. The target population is rounded to the nearest thousand. Detail may not sum to totals because of rounding.
SOURCE: U.S. Department of Education, Institute of Education Sciences, National Center for Education Statistics, National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP), 2011 Writing Assessment.